Since the 1970's there has been a heightened awareness of the benefits of dietary fiber. Consequently, consumers have shown an increasing interest in high fiber food products. These food products have included breakfast cereals, laxative beverages, bran tablets and cereal bars with added bran fiber.
Numerous snack-food products are available for consumption in the form of cereals, granola-type bars and cookies. These products have become readily acceptable to consumers, particularly for those interested in foods containing grains and fruits. "Snack meals" have become an important substitution for traditional meals and the nutritional contribution of the former has therefore become increasingly important. For the most part, the products of the prior art have concentrated on the utilization of cereal proteins.
German Federal Republic Patent Application No. 2,746,479, filed 1979, to Bayer AG, concerns confectionery bars such as chocolate bonbons, etc., whereby shredded bran or vegetable fiber is added in the amount of 5-75% by weight.
It is known to use fibrous materials such as wheat bran and cellulose for a variety of baked and cooked products. U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,448 to Hayward et al. discloses a cereal protein fortified bar. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,056,636 to Kelly et al., 3,903,308 to Ode, 3,925,567 to Able, 3,711,296 assigned to Beatrice Foods, U.K. Pat. No. 1,321,889 to National Biscuit Co., U.S. Pat. No. 3,532,509 to Gronberg and U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,890 to Benson are among the relevant patents dealing with snack foods and cereal containing products in snack food form. These are cited primarily as background for the examiner.
Dietary fiber (bran-cellulose) in cookie products is discussed in the journal "Tennessee Farm and Home Science," 1979, No. 101, 21-24. This product concerned a dough which was baked. The "Journal of Food Science," 1979, 42, (6), 1428-1431 discusses the feasibility of increasing fiber with cellulose in cakes. A high-protein snack food using beanstalk (mungbean flour) with sesame seed and rice bran products is discussed in the "Thai Journal of Agriculture Science," 1974, 7, (2), 93-101.
A high protein food bar consisting of peanuts and grains bound together by peanut butter and sweeteners, which is then extruded and cut in bar shape and coated with carob is disclosed in "Food Product Development," 1981, 15, (3), 30. Its ingredients are peanut butter, cornsweet 90, carob coating, 62 DE corn syrup, soy bran, peanuts, isolated vegetable protein, wheat germ, natural vanilla flavoring, lecithin and are fortified to greater than or equal to 60% of the U.S. RDA for proteins, vitamins and minerals.
German Federal Republic Patent Application No. 2,845,571, 1980 discloses snacks rich in cellulose fiber wherein 10-20% moisture may be present and 10-80% of a filler consisting of bran, pure cellulose or other plant residue and 20-90% of a protein such as milk protein.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,861 to Viera et al., discloses a process for producing a breakfast cereal using delicate belt compaction to bond cereal particles together with a binder fat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,768 to Staub et al., discloses a low-calorie food product containing dietary fiber present, at the level of 1/4 to 2 times the level of polyols present, the purpose of the fiber being the reduction of diarrhea which ordinarily occurs with the use of polyol sweeteners. The products contemplated are baked goods, jams, pastas, noodles, toppings and confections.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,427, to Martin, discloses a snack food product produced by aggregating an assortment of amylaceous and proteinaceous particles around puffed and preferably at least partially puffed toasted cereal flakes which serve as focal points for the particles and thereby afford a multi-textured lower density and eating quality, the aggregates being preserved and agglomerated in a fat-syrup double or single coating. The preferred ingredients are coconut oil 10 to 20%, rolled oats 20 to 35%, wheat germ 0 to 25%, rolled whole wheat 2 to 25%, corn syrup 0 to 5% and oven-puffed rice flakes 0 to 25%. The products are intended to be of the granola-type and are prepared by spraying an aqueous solution of sugar onto oil coated wheat and oats. The initial individual moisture content of the wheat and oats is 8%. The particles subsequent to oil coating have a moisture content of 13% and are later dried to again reduce their moisture content to 6 to 8%.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,811 to Bonner et al., discloses a ready-to-eat cereal of natural ingredients consisting essentially of a base and a coating thereon, said base comprising 30 to 50 parts by weight cereal flakes, 5 to 8 parts coconut, 0 to 10 parts milk solids and 5 to 9 parts edible nuts; said coating comprising 12 to 24 parts brown sugar, 5 to 15 parts non-hydrogenated vegetable oil, 1/2 to 3 parts sugar; said cereal having a moisture content of 1 to 3.5% by weight and a density of 0.15 to 0.35 oz. per cubic inch. The process of making this product requires oven drying to reduce moisture content subsequent to the addition of 1 to 3% by weight of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,954 to Knupers et al., concerns a dietary snack product rich in fiber produced by a process wherein a fiber-containing substance which is difficult to extrude by itself is mixed with a protein such as milk and water, to form a mixture having a moisture content between 8 and 25%, the mixture then being extruded at a temperature of at least 100.degree. C. The resulting dietary product may contain 10 to 80% rich in fiber such as bran and 20 to 90% of plasticizable protein.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,868,471, discloses ready-to-eat cereals produced by coating a mixture of a raw cereal base and additional cereal grains with an edible oil, and permitting the oil to penetrate the cereal surface. A syrup coating is then applied, while agitating, to form clusters having a substantially continuous double film thereon. The clusters are then roasted and dried.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,163, to Hutchison, discloses an edible fibrous cellulose product encapsulated in a polyhydric alcohol and gum solution to produce a low calorie gum base product for use in the manufacture of foods.
Breads, cereals, cakes and beverage mixes are known in the art to include what is commonly referred to as dietary fiber. These products have in common with those previously discussed the requirement of traditional baking, cooking, toasting, frying or other heat treatments to arrive at a desired product form and taste.
Generally, the objective of the foregoing prior art is to attempt to conceal the unpleasant taste and texture of fiber in various components including fats, polyhydric alcohols, sugar solids or starch. While the objective is achieved to some degree, it is at the expense of a significant increase in caloric value of the product. Furthermore, the effective "dose" of fiber is substantially diluted.
The term "dietary fiber" is commonly understood to mean that component of food which is non-digestible and non-metabolizable by humans. It is well known that dietary fibers as they occur naturally in food sources also have associated with them a digestible portion comprising fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Additionally, in many foods containing dietary fiber, significant portions of the foods by weight are usually digestible portions which are caloric in nature. Thus, presently to obtain a high weight percent content of dietary fiber, it is necessary to eat large quantities of a fiber-containing food source, such as cereal brans. A significant disadvantage in doing this is that one simultaneously consumes extremely high amounts of fats, proteins and carbohydrate materials which, being digestible, contribute to caloric intake.
The instant invention solves the problems of the prior art by making a composition whereby the weight ratio of dietary fiber to digestible material is increased to allow for consumption of high percentages of dietary fiber without the disadvantage of high caloric intake. The compositions of the instant invention are improved over the prior art attempts to mask the fibrous, rough mouthfeel texture of dietary fiber. Whereas the prior art masked the unpleasant fiber taste with fats and carbohydrates, the instant invention uses soluble dietary fiber to coat insoluble dietary fiber.
Thus, the instant invention provides novel dietary fiber compositions and food products containing the dietary fiber compositions. This invention also concerns a novel process for making the dietary fiber composition and food products made therefrom.